THE MELLARK BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN
by Texas-Devil-Or-Angel
Summary: After a seven year absence the Mellark Brothers return to their home town to reopen their late father's bakery. Peeta's former flame, Katniss Everdeen, is among the women who are excited by this news and hopes to catch his eye again. But the brothers are hiding something; They don't date and just where do they disappear to every weekend? Katniss is determined to find out.
1. The Boys Are Back

Even though she knew full well that the bakery had been closed for over 7 years, ever since the untimely death of Mr. Mellark, it still drew her eyes every time she passed by it. And she passed by it at least 3 times a week, especially in the last year. It was on her route home from work at the high school, where she worked as a music teacher and helped with the after school archery and hiking clubs in the spring and fall.

Most days she just flicked her eyes quickly over to that side of the street and caught a brief glance of the darkened windows and wondered why the building was still empty. It was at the corner of what was probably the town's busiest intersection and should have been snapped up by some merchant just for its prime location. But it had stood empty since the baker's wife had sold the family house and moved herself and her 3 sons out of Panem a mere 6 weeks after the accident that had killed her kind, friendly husband.

Most days the traffic at that time of day was light and that quick glance was all she had time for, but on rare occasions the traffic light would be against her and her progress down Main Street would be briefly halted. On those days she would get a longer look, but not by much. There was a lot less traffic on the cross street and it usually only took less than two minutes for the light to change back. On those days, she would always spend the rest of the drive home with thoughts of cheese buns, blonde hair and a certain pair of blue eyes on her mind.

This particular afternoon, though she was traveling the road a bit later than usual was of the former variety. With the green light in her favor she barely needed to slow down but out of habit had eased up on the gas. As was usual for these days she quickly flit her eyes in that direction and back again. Even with such a brief glance, her keen hunter's sense had managed to note that the windows, though still dark, had seemed to gleam with a cleanliness that had been absent for years and that a broom had been propped up near the front door. She wondered who the new owners where and how they had managed to purchase the property without word of its sale becoming the town's main topic of gossip and speculation. She found to her surprise that even though the bakery had been out of business for so long it saddened her to think of the midnight blue **'Mellark's Bakery'** lettering above the display windows being gone soon, whenever the new owner's painted over it and replaced with their business' name.

For the rest of the 10 minute drive home, she let her mind wonder back to the end of her sophomore year in high school and the broad shoulders, blond hair and blue eyes of the youngest Mellark boy, Peeta, who had made the months before her 16th birthday some of the happiest since the death of her father 3 years prior.

She remembered how after Sadie Hawkins Day* _(which Madge had convinced her to attend dressed in the appropriate cut off jean shorts, sleeveless midriff baring plaid shirt, cowboy boots and straw hat)_ in November of that year she had caught Peeta looking at her more and more often, unable to or perhaps no longer willing to hide his longing glances in her direction. Truth was that she had known Peeta had been looking in her direction since they where 14, but where he had previously looked away hurriedly, a flush staining his pale cheeks, he was now meeting her eyes and smiling openly at her when she caught him. _(And she caught him a lot because she looked at him a lot too)_. At 16, Peeta had been a bit shy and it had taken him longer to work up the nerve to approach her than he would have liked even after he noticed her looking back.

It in fact took him until the Spring Fling Dance in March to actually ask her on a date. They had attended the dance separately, each with their own group of friends, but had managed to find themselves on the dance floor together long enough to share a dance, a few looks and for him to awkwardly, but endearingly, ask her out.

Their first date had been the every next weekend to the local community colleges carnival. Despite the awkward moments between booths and her 11 o'clock curfew they managed to have fun and at the end of the night agreed to another outing. Over the next few weeks they spent more and more time together whenever they could. He brought her treats from the bakery, cookies, cupcakes, cheese buns; she took him on walks and hikes through her beloved woods. He watched her practice her archery; she attended wrestling matches. By the end of the 3rd week in April they could be seen holding hands where ever they went, in and out of school and where sharing increasingly passionate kisses at the end of each night. With her 16th birthday rapidly approaching, Peeta was making plans for a special celebration. With Madge's help they had arranged for Katniss to be out all night on the pretext of a double date culminating in Katniss spending the night with the Mayor's daughter. As the Mayor and his wife would be out of town, both girls would be free to return home at whatever time they choose with out anyone but themselves being the wiser. While Peeta was hopeful that the night would end with more than just the kisses they had been sharing so far, he had assured Katniss that he respected her and would be happy with however far she was comfortable going in their physical relationship. Madge offered Katniss her choice from the vast collection of party dress in her closet and steered her towards one that was several shades of orange from brightest red orange at the shoulders to cream at the hem and covered every shade in between.

But all their preparations where for naught, because three days after Katniss' actual birthday, two days before the big date, a delivery truck had blown a tire, swerved into the oncoming lane causing the car that Mr. & Mrs. Mellark where in to go off the road and into a telephone pole. The impact had left Mr. Mellark with severe internal injures, the most serious being broken ribs and a punctured lung and trauma to the head from hitting the windshield. Mrs. Mellark had gotten off with only a concussion, a fractured wrist and a 3 day stay in the hospital. The truck driver had suffered only minor cuts, bumps and bruises, none of which had required a stay in the hospital. Mr. Mellark had survived less than two days after the impact, just long enough for his oldest son and namesake to make the journey home from the University he was attending, after hearing the news. Consequently, the three Mellark brothers where standing vigil at their father's bedside when the baker had gone into cardiac arrest. The medical staff had been unable to successfully restart his heart and the baker had passed way with his family only a few feet away; Peeta and his brothers pacing the waiting room; Mrs. Mellark down the hall in her own room.

Katniss had tried to be there for Peeta has much as she could. She wasn't good with words and knew from her own father's death that at times like these words of sympathy weren't always what was needed. Mostly she just took every opportunity to put her arms around Peeta; She let him cry on her shoulder when ever he needed to, listened to his stories about his father when he wanted to talk, held his hand and made her lips available if he wanted to kiss her.

The bakery had never reopened after closing on the Thursday of the accident despite all three Mellark boys willing to work whatever hours necessary to keep it open, even if only part time. Mrs. Mellark had refused stating that their educations where far more important than the bakery.

Peeta and Katniss had never gotten the chance to reschedule her birthday celebration for a mere month later Mrs. Mellark announced plans to move to a neighboring state, put the house her boys had grown up in up for sale. Less than two weeks after the end of their sophomore school year, she had packed up her house and her two youngest sons and left Panem without a backward glance.

Like most teenagers who where in the clutches of first love, Katniss and Peeta had promised to stay in touch. And they did, at first. They called and text, they wrote letters and emails to each other several times a week. They stayed in constant touch though out the summer. The beginning of their junior year put a damper on their communications and they soon found themselves talking only on the weekends; that lapsed to only texts by Christmas. By the time that their senior year was drawing to a close the only communication between them was when one forwarded a funny email to the other as part of a larger group and the occasional pictures or posts that appeared on their respective face book pages. And even those stopped, at least on Peeta's end, around the time that their freshman year of college was due to start. Katniss wasn't really surprised, if his schedule was anywhere near as hectic as hers, it was not surprising that he didn't have time for trivial things such as social media.

She arrived home and let go of the bittersweet memories the sight of the bakery had evoked. She got busy preparing her solitary dinner and was again thankful that she rarely had papers to grade. She planned on a quiet night at home catching up on the recorded shows she had queued up on her DVR. She was half way through the first of three How I Met Your Mother episodes when the phone by the side of the couch rang. She reached over but checked the caller ID before pressing the button to answer. She hated not being prepared for whoever was on the other end. The phone identified her caller as Delly Cartwright and Katniss cringed, she really had no wish to speak to the other girl at the moment but knew that her friend would keep calling until Katniss answered. She drew a breath and tried to sound more enthusiastic than she felt.

"_Hey Delly, What's up?" _

The shriek that greeted her in return was not completely unexpected, Delly tended to get overly excited about things that didn't warrant it. But the words that tumbled out of Delly mouth in the next few seconds did warrant it. At least in Katniss' opinion it was.

"_Oh my god, oh my god Kat. You're not going to believe what I found out today. They came back. Levvy saw them leaving the store. They're back! They're back!"_

"_Slow down Delly, I can't understand you. Take a deep breath, start over, and tell me again. Who's back?" _Katniss asked.

"It's the Mellark's Katniss. THE MELLARKS! Levvy said she saw two of them leaving the discount store across from her office this morning. Katniss, the Mellark Boys are back in town!"

*Sadie Hawkins Day

[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

An American folk event, **Sadie Hawkins Day** is a pseudo-holiday that originated in Al Capp's classic hillbilly comic strip, _Li'l Abner_ (1934–1978). This inspired real-world Sadie Hawkins dances, where girls ask boys out.

Original story

In the strip Sadie was the daughter of one of Dogpatch's earliest settlers, Hekzebiah Hawkins. The "homeliest gal in all them hills", she grew frantic waiting for suitors to come a-courtin'. When she reached the age of 35, still unmarried, her father was even more frantic—about Sadie living at home for the rest of her life. In desperation, he called together all the unmarried men of Dogpatch and declared it "Sadie Hawkins Day". Specifically, a foot race was decreed, with Sadie in hot pursuit of the town's eligible bachelors—and matrimony as the consequence. The town spinsters decided that this was such a good idea and made Sadie Hawkins Day a mandatory yearly event, much to the chagrin of Dogpatch bachelors. In the satirical spirit that drove the strip, many sequences revolved around the dreaded Sadie Hawkins Day race. If a woman caught a bachelor and dragged him, kicking and screaming, across the finish line before sundown—by law he _had_ to marry her.


	2. Delly's Plan

T[M]BaBiT-2

Katniss hadn't been able to stop thinking about Delly's words from 4 nights ago.

"_The Mellark Boys are Back in Town"._

Not after she hung up that night and wondered which two brothers had been at the store _(Delly had not known that –Levvy had not been able to identify them from that distance but she had been sure enough that it was 2 of the brothers. Or at least she had been sure when she called Delly to share the information)._

Not while she tried to sleep that night.

Not while she drove past the bakery on her way to and from work the past two days, despite not seeing hide or [blonde] hair of either Mellark.

Not after Delly had informed her yesterday that only two of the family members had returned. And since the eldest Mellark brother was now married, Delly assumed that he was not one of the returnees, so in her opinion it **had** to be Peeta and Rye Mellark who where in town and now living in the apartment over the bakery (another tidbit courtesy of Delly's chain of friends and informants).

She certainly had not been able to keep her mind off of their return while she had been at Sae's picking up Delly's order and she most certainly couldn't now that she was sitting in her car outside the bakery waiting for Delly.

Her phone buzzed alerting her of an incoming text message and disrupting her thoughts. The message from Delly was short but it had Katniss groaning and cursing.

She cursed Madge Undersee for in her mind it was Madge's fault that Delly and Katniss where anything more than speaking acquaintances. She cursed the first day of their junior year in high school when Madge had welcomed _'poor little Delly Cartwright'_ into their small group because she had lost both her best friend (Peeta) and her well known crush (Rye) on the day the Mellark's had moved. Then she cursed Madge again for accepting a job in Capital City after graduation and leaving Delly as her back up best friend now that Prim was away at school. She cursed Delly for coming up with this idea and then getting held up in her parent's shoe store. And finally Katniss cursed herself for letting Delly talk her into this; but mostly she cursed herself for being afraid to do something she really wanted.

It may have only been 2 days since she learned for certain that Peeta was back in town, but she had wanted to go to the bakery and see for herself since the second she had hung up the phone with Delly 4 nights ago. But fear had kept her from giving in to her impulse. What if it wasn't Peeta? What if he didn't remember her? Or worse - what if he did and didn't want to see her? She knew that it was silly to feel disappointed that he hadn't called her and let her know he was returning, after all they hadn't actually spoken in almost 5 years. For him to call her out of the blue was a ridiculous expectation on her part and she knew it.

When Delly had invited her to lunch earlier that day and explained her plan _(which included Katniss)_ for stopping by the boy's apartment after work with dinner from Sae's Diner, Katniss had dismissed it out of hand. She told Delly that stopping by without an invitation or their knowledge was tantamount to begging for attention; that it would mark them as desperate and she absolutely refused to accompany the blonde woman. But as Delly harped on about how it was just a friendly neighborly welcome back to town, something that was very, very common in their small home town, Katniss let herself be convinced that it really was that simple and had found herself agreeing after all.

But as she re-read Delly's latest message again {_Go head, I'll be there shortly}_, she knew she had been fooling herself. She really wanted to see Peeta and she had been open to any half way reasonable excuse or reason to stop by no matter how desperate it made her appear. And she wasn't about to wait any longer for Delly. She knew that if she didn't gather her courage and act immediately, she would start her car and leave.

Drawing a deep breath and lifting the bag of food from the passenger seat of her car, Katniss forced herself to climb out and walk the few steps to the front door of the bakery. As she passed she peered through a window into the dark interior but couldn't really make out much of the inside and had to draw on her memories to picture the inside. It wasn't until she was raising her hand to push the door open that it dawned on her that the door was locked. For a brief moment she let herself consider leaving and telling Delly she had tried, but she knew that if there was no one in the bakery then they were probably upstairs in the apartment. It was after 6:30 and even if the Bakery had been open for business it would have been past business hours. Katniss lowered her hand and let her shaky legs lead her around the corner of the building towards where she knew the stairs to the apartment were. As she rounded the back of the building she noticed that there was an older model van and truck and a motorcycle parked in the lot and wondered who they belonged to. Then suddenly she was at the top of the stairs facing the dark brown door.

Her knock seemed to echo loudly in the evening air. From the other side of the door she could hear footstep approaching. She was overcome with the feeling that this was a big mistake; that she should at least wait for Delly so they could do this together. She looked down at her feet willing them to run but it was too-late the door opened and she found herself staring at a pair of large black motorcycle boots. Her eyes traveled up the length of a pair of well worn faded jeans that encased what appeared to be strong, muscular thighs. They paused briefly at the hips where the low slung jeans gave way to a snug heather gray t-shirt sporting the emblem of a professional football team. She didn't miss the way the shirt clung to the broad shoulders and well defined chest or the fact that the short sleeves showed off his muscular arms, one of which was stretched out holding the door open. She felt a smile begin as she finally made her eyes move up to his face taking in the blond stubble covering the square jaw and the smirk on the man's lips. His eyes where filled with amusement indicating that he had not missed her appraisal of him.

Peeta's smiles and laughing eyes had never failed to give Katniss a small thrill, but as she looked up into them now she didn't feel any connection.

The blue eyes of the man smiling down at her were not the same blue eyes of the boy she remembered.


	3. We Meet Again

Insert all the standard declaimers here:

I'm not S. Collins; I don't own THG; No copy write infringement intended; This story and the borrowing of the characters created by Ms. Collins is for entertainment purposes only.

"_Hello Rye"_

His blue eyes widen slightly in surprise and Katniss recognized the look in them. It was the same look kids had when she asked them a question in class and they where desperately scanning their memory for a hint of an answer they should know but just couldn't put their finger on. It was the perfect opportunity for Katniss to pay him back for all the teasing and uncomfortable moments she had endured from him in the months she had dated Peeta. An opportunity she couldn't resist, so she stepped closer to him, reached out and in a move that would have made Delly proud had she been able to see it, placed her empty hand on the well developed bicep of the arm holding the door open, lowered her voice and whispered in the best seductive voice she could come up with

"_I'm hurt Rye. After all those things you said to me, how could you forget me so quickly and completely?" _

Although he seemed a little thrown by her action he didn't miss a beat. He let go of the door and brought his arm towards her, letting his fingers brush her hip before bending his arm and letting his hand rest lightly on her shoulder blade. At the same time he lowered his head and in deep voice murmured just above her ear

"_I'd say I was sorry about not remembering but right now I only wanna think about the fun we could have making new memories"._

Although she had never been attracted to Rye Mellark (despite his resemblance to Peeta) Katniss suddenly understood why so many girls had been unable to say no to him. He was very good looking, a natural born flirt, and his voice seemed to have the ability to render a woman incapable of thinking logically. Her meager flirting abilities exhausted, Katniss realizes that her attempt to make Rye uncomfortable had backfired horribly. She was in way over her head and turned her attention into trying back away from him and out of the situation she had created with out completely humiliating herself. She moved back and slightly to her right, further into the apartment. She looked up at his face to find him looking amused and she could only assume that her discomfort was clear on her face. Her ears registered the sound of approaching footsteps, but her mind was too focused on trying to find the right thing to say that would smooth over the awkwardness she felt for her to process what it meant. Rye's hand followed her as she stepped forward and he stepped to stand practically pressed against her left side as he closed the door. He had obviously understood what the footsteps meant for he looked up from Katniss' face to say

"_Hey Peet, we have a guest. She's anxious to get re-acquainted and make up for lost time and forgotten memories. You don't mind if we hang out here do you?"_

At his words Katniss finally looked away and turned towards the sound of the footsteps; she felt her breath rush out of her lungs. Walking towards her from the hallway that she assumed lead to bedrooms was Peeta. Like Rye he was dressed in boots, jeans and t-shirt. Peeta's shirt was white and displayed a small school emblem over the left side of the chest. Somehow, despite the very prominent similarities in their looks and dress, Katniss could feel the pull of the attraction that seemed to be radiating from the younger Mellark. His eyes, which had been trained on his brother flicked over to her and she saw the recognition register in his eyes.

"_Katniss? Katniss Everdeen, is that you?"_

Beside her Katniss felt Rye stiffen in surprise then drop his arm and step away from her when Peeta cast a pointed look at where their bodies where almost touching.

Now that she was face to face with him, Katniss couldn't seem to form a coherent thought much less a sentence. Instead she reverted to her 15 year old self's habit of blushing, nodding but she did manage to get out a whispered _"Hi Peeta"_.

At her confirmation Peeta stepped towards her and raise his arms, possibly to hug her, only to be stopped short by his brother's exclamation of

"_KitKat! Of course I remember! Look at you all grown up now!"_

Rye's words seemed to break the awkwardness that had descended briefly and they both spoke at the same time

"_It's so wonderful to see you. Guess you still live here in Panem? How are Prim and your mom?"_

"_Sorry to just drop in uninvited like this. Delly wanted to bring you some dinner but she got…"_

As she spoke, Katniss held up the bag from Sae's drawing their attention to it. Both men eyed the bag hungrily then spoke,

"_Oh man is that from Sae's?" "Please tell me that Sae still makes that fabulous stew on Tuesdays"_

At Katniss' _"yes", _Rye broke into a huge grin, brought his hand back to hover at her lower back and gestured toward the kitchen area

"_Well then what are we doing just standing here KitKat? Let's mosey on into the kitchen, find us some spoons and get busy eating and getting reacquainted!"_

He took the bag and headed towards the kitchen leaving Katniss and Peeta to follow at their own pace. Peeta motioned for her to go ahead of him and as she walked, with Rye's sounds of appreciation over the food echoing around her, she could help but smile.

Peeta was back. And he remembered her. They were about to catch up on 7 years. It wasn't perfect, but she had the feeling everything was going to work out. As she accepted a bottle of water from Peeta she sent up silent thanks to the universe for making Delly (and her desperate plan) a part of her life.

AN-

So sorry of the delay in posting a new chapter. The last few attempts to update chapters on this site have not worked out and I have gotten frustrated and given up with out uploading/updating. Tonight seems to be working better hopefully I will be able to get both chapters I have finished upload.


	4. Catching Up

Insert all the standard declaimers here:

I'm not S. Collins; I don't own THG; No copy write infringement intended; this story and the borrowing of the characters created by Ms. Collins is for entertainment purposes only.

If the minutes between arriving downstairs and sitting down in the kitchen to enjoy Sae's Tuesday Special had seemed to pass extremely slowly, the next 45 minutes flew by too quickly in Katniss' opinion. The conversation had flowed comfortably and more easily than was expected and they had moved quickly from subject to subject. They told her that their oldest brother-now married and almost 30 years of age was actively trying to make them uncles. She told them that Prim was away on scholarship at the state's best nursing school. They informed her that their mother had remarried and (thankfully according to Rye) still lived in another state. When asked she told them about how her mother had passed away almost 2 years ago. They learned that her teaching degree had been earned at a nearby state University; and they told her that like their eldest brother, they had both attended Capital University and come away with marketing (Rye) and business (Peeta) degrees.

When Rye had unceremoniously reached into the bag and without asking if anyone else wanted it withdrawn the 4th (and last helping) of Sae's stew, the topic turned to food.

"_If I didn't know any better Rye,"_ Katniss commented as she cast her glance around at all the different containers that lined the counters of the small kitchen _"I'd think you hadn't eaten for several days"._

Peeta chuckled and answered for Rye whose mouth was full. _"You know how small towns are. Nothing says 'Welcome' like a Tupperware container full of food. I seriously think all of dad's old friends and customers have stopped by with something; dumplings, chicken spaghetti, tuna casserole"_ Rye gave a visible shudder at the mention _"fried chicken, chili. I think we've had it all. Even cookies"_.

At Katniss' look of astonishment, _(seriously who brings bakers cookies?)_ Rye blurted out _"Courtesy of Heap Queens Glimmer Brown and Clove Mondell"_, making reference to the nickname for the most notorious make out spot in town and the two girls from his year who, between the two, where reputed to have visited said spot with 80% of the boys from their graduating class, Rye included. Nodding towards the still full see through disposable container he added _"Feel free to take some with you"_. Then just grinned knowingly when Katniss muttered _'Passss'_ under her breath.

"_That's why your arrival was a live saver"_ Rye declared between bites. _"I mean, I really appreciate Mrs. Reed bringing over her yummy sausage & cheese meat-balls, but nothing beats Sae's special"_.

At Katniss' questioning look he went on to explain _"Do you know how many places serve rabbit, squirrel or even deer stew in the big cities? None, that's how many, none. I know, I checked."_

"_Ignore him."_ Peeta explained _"Having Sae's stew is all he's been able to talk about since we decided to come back. Tell me what's it like to be back at D12 high but on the other side of the grade book?"_

"_Surprisingly it's a little bit like being back in high school." _At Peeta's questioning look she went on to explain _"There are a lot of cliques. No one is out right mean or anything like that, so that part is different at least. But the older teachers tend not to socialize with the younger ones and vice versa. And on the rare occasions when they do they all tend to act as if their specialized area of teaching is an exclusive club. Math teachers, coaches, science, history each keep to their own kind. And then there's the other side of the weird where now I'm supposed to call Coach Abernathy Haymitch or old Mrs. Rychlik Tina because we are co-workers. You know?"_

"_Wow, who knew that teachers were allowed to have first names? Should I just call you Ms. Everdeen from now on?"_ Katniss felt a little thrill run through her at Peeta's flirty words. Her answer tumbled out of her mouth before her brain had a chance to process it.

"_In front of my students, yes, that would be best. But the rest of the time you can call me whatever you want." _They both flushed pink as the possible double meaning of her words hit and they both looked away from the other as quickly as possible while avoiding the sudden tension in the room. Rye was watching them more closely than either of them realized and didn't miss any of their exchange or the meaning of it. But they both missed the look of concern that was briefly on his face before he masked it with a laugh.

~8~

The awkward moment following Katniss' unintended double entendre was broken by the ringing of her phone, signaling a message from Delly stating that she definitely was not going to make it. Katniss in turn explained to Rye that he really owed his thanks for the rabbit stew to Delly (she didn't miss the funny look on his face when she mentioned the blonde woman) since it was her idea to bring it in the first place and explained that a problem at her parents store had cause her to miss the visit. After his effusive thanks toward her she was a little surprised to hear him say somewhat lack-lusterly _"Yea I'll be sure to thank her when ever I see her."_

After they refused her help with clean up (there really wasn't anything to help with) Katniss figured it was time for her to depart. It was obvious that they were still in the midst of unpacking since she could see several boxes stacked by the walls around the living room.

Rye opened the door as the trio reached it and Katniss stepped outside closely followed by Peeta. Rye stood in the doorway and told her that it had been nice to see her again then joked that anytime she wanted to bring them Sae's she was welcome. Then he just stood there as if he where waiting for her to leave before returning to the apartment. The moment would have turned extremely awkward but Peeta, who had been looking out over the railing and into the parking area, noticed that there where only 3 vehicles in the lot-all of which belonged to him or his brother. He gestured toward the corner where they where stationed and asked where her vehicle was. When Katniss responded with _"in front of the bakery"_ he stepped toward the stairs and said he would walk her to it. Neither of them could keep the smile from showing on their face at the chancwe to spend time, even if it was just a few minutes, alone together.

~8~

They didn't really speak for the few minutes it took them to descend the stairs and round the two corners of the building needed to reach Main Street. Her trusty but old Ford Escort was the only car in sight but her sudden nervousness still made her point out _"This is me"_ when she stopped beside it.

The silence stretched out for a few seconds before she spoke again _"I should get going. I need to call Delly and check on her and I'm sure you have a lot to do too." _At his nod she began to turn away but his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist stopping her from taking more than a step. Katniss looked down at where his large hand was wrapped around her small fragile looking wrist and back up into his face with a question in her eyes. He didn't let go as she expected he would, instead he gave her wrist a gentle squeeze and a small tug that had her turning her body back towards him. He still didn't release her and his voice as he spoke to her was almost a whisper, she had to lean in towards him to hear clearly. _"It was really good to see you again Katniss. I really can't express how much it means that you stopped by to see us; to welcome us home. It means more than you know. I wish that things were diff…" _his voice trailed off when he realized that he was staring at her lips but was unable to force his eyes to look away. He felt his body lean towards hers and his head begin to descend at an angle that would bring his lips in contact with hers. He felt as if he was moving in slow motion, with his intent perfectly clear, giving her plenty of time to retreat or turn her head if she choose, but she stayed still.

Suddenly from slightly behind him the bakery's interior lights came on with a barely audible electrical buzz and a bright flash that illuminated Katniss' face and caused her to abruptly pull away from him. Letting go of Katniss' wrist, Peeta turned towards the bakery and through the window they observed Rye searching for something among the boxes and bakery equipment that currently compromised the bakery's interior. With an unintelligible curse at his brother mumbled under his breath Peeta turned back towards Katniss but could immediately tell that what ever moment they had been sharing was over, she was saying goodnight to him as she was walking around the car to the driver's side and with a final _"see you around"_ she drove off.

~8~

Peeta took a deep breath and turned back toward the bakery just in time to see Rye heading towards the back door with his leather jacket in his hand. He retraced the path that he and Katniss has taken from the back at a much faster pace than they had set and rounded the second corner to find Rye waiting at the top of the stair in front of the apartment door. He didn't say anything until he was almost to the top of the steps himself. Then he finally addressed his brother _"Really Rye? Was that necessary?"_ Rye gave him a measured look _"I think you know it was." _With a shove that was just a little more forceful than necessary Peeta pushed past his brother and into the apartment _"Like hell! It was just a simple kiss; it wouldn't have meant anything"_. Rye's laugh was more of a scoff _"Sell it to some else, bro. We both know that when it comes to her there's no such thing as simple or meaningless. And there hasn't been since you were 12."_ At Peeta's glare, Rye softened his voice a little before speaking again. _"Look, I really am trying to help. Getting involved with her - __especially with her__, could jeopardize everything. It's a complication you, no we, just can't afford to risk right now. If __**she**__ where to find out - it could ruin everything." _

Rye watched as understanding flooded his brother's face and caused his shoulders to droop a bit. He saw Peeta nodding, before he straightened and turned towards one of boxes they had yet to unpack.

Peeta cut open the tape and pulled the flaps of the box open before commenting _"You're right, I know you are. And I hate that I know you are."_


	5. What we Don't Know

AN: Not 100% happy with this, but its been way too long since I updated so here it is. Also, I'm not S. Collins; I don't own THG; No copy write infringement intended; this story and the borrowing of the characters created by Ms. Collins is for entertainment purposes only.

"I don't know Delly. I don't know, when I'm going to going to see him again. Maybe…never, if Rye has anything to say about it"

It had been 4 days since Katniss had visited Peeta and Rye's apartment. Four days without any attempted contact from Peeta as far as she knew. She and Delly were at her place getting ready to enjoy their traditional Saturday afternoon pizza and bad TV time, a tradition that the Everdeen girls had started when they were in their teens and had at times over the years also included Delly, Gale and Rory Hawthorne, Madge Undersee. Even now with Prim away at school and Madge and Gale both living in other towns it was something Katniss still indulged in whenever possible. Delly tuned the television to the fashion show she choose every time it was her turn to choose the show they watched 'Capitol Couture with Effie Trinket' before turning her attention to Katniss.

"What makes you say that? I thought you said nothing happened when you where there the other night" Delly questioned curiously. "Are you not telling me something?"

Katniss' blush gave her away without any words. Delly's next sentence was more of a demand "Come on spill it. What happened?"

"We almost kissed" she confessed after a brief internal struggle then went on to describe the events of the night to the blonde woman who was the closest friend she had. "Like I told you already, Rye answered the door and he didn't recognize me. Then Peeta came in, he did know who I was. We moved into the kitchen and we sort of caught up while we ate." She paused for a second then commented "Did I tell you that you weren't the only one with the idea to bring them food as an excuse to see them?"

Delly nodded to acknowledge that Katniss had indeed told her about the large amounts of food that had lined the counters of their kitchen. "That all sounds pretty normal. Are you sure you didn't notice anything strange or out-of-place?"

Katniss thought about her question for a moment "No not really, I mean nothing concrete." At Delly questioning look, she informed her "I got the feeling that Rye was more comfortable with my being there before he realized who I was. I can't really put my finger on it but he seemed friendlier, more welcoming before Peeta said my name. And I don't get it. He was always friendly to me when Peeta and I dated before they moved."

"I guess that is a bit strange. What else happened? You said you and Peeta almost kissed. When did that happen?"

"Downstairs, when he walked me to my car. After we finished eating and they turned down my offers to help clean up. I was parked in front of the bakery and Peeta offered to walk me. Just as I was about to step down from the sidewalk, he grabbed my arm and stopped me. He told me that it was really good to see me; that it meant a lot that I stopped by. And then…then…" she trailed off reluctant to share the rest.

"Then what? What happened?" Delly urged her to continue her story. At Katniss' continued silence she added "I can't tell you what I think it means if I don't know what happened, you know?"

"I told you, nothing happened." When Delly just quirked an eyebrow at her, Katniss sighed and added "O.K., fine. He didn't let go of my arm and we kind of just stared at each other for what felt like a really long time but I guess it was really just a few seconds. We were looking at each other and I started feeling all excited…like I used to before, when we where dating. Don't know which one of us leaned forward, maybe it was both of us, but suddenly we were closer and I knew we were going to kiss. It felt like we were moving in slow motion. Then when our lips were just a couple of inches apart the lights from inside the bakery came on and we pulled away from each other."

"What? The bakery lights? Why? How?" Katniss' smile lessened as she answered "More like whom. Rye, that's who. He was in the bakery looking for something, I guess. I don't know why, but that's what really gave me the feeling he wasn't happy that I was there. It's like he was waiting for just the right moment to interrupt us. Like he didn't want us to kiss or anything. But that's stupid, isn't it? It's stupid to think that he would do something like that, right? "

Delly considered it for a moment before replying "Well normally I would agree that there really isn't anything to base that on, but Katniss you have really good instincts. And I think we've all learned that your instincts should be trusted. I mean nobody else ever suspected that Professor Snow was evil, except you. You distrusted him from the first time you met him and if you hadn't warned the rest of us to beware of him there's no telling how many more students he could have hurt before he was caught; How many more victims the "Game Hunter" would have claimed those last two years. And don't forget about Seneca Crane. If it wasn't for your warning about him, Suzanne would have gotten a lot more hurt than she did."

Katniss brushed off Delly's praise. She had always been uncomfortable with compliments or being given credit for things she didn't feel she had really earned. "Stop. I didn't really do anything. I just told everybody that Professor Snow gave me the creeps and I didn't trust that Seneca was what he really said he was. That's all."

"But that's the point Katniss. Everybody else ignored any warning signs they may have felt and let themselves be fooled; they let themselves take them at face value. Everybody except you. Not only did they not fool you, you made the effort to warn others."

They sat quietly for a few moments, the only sound coming from the television, where Effie Trinket's voice went on about the importance of manners, until Katniss spoke again "You give me too much credit Del. Ugh, how did we get on this depressing topic anyways?" She turned her attention to the show "What stupid fashion advice does Effie have this week? Not that I care, but since you force me to watch…"

Delly laughed and gestured toward the set. "She hasn't really said yet, she's just talked about who was wearing what at that gala last weekend, and gone off on some tangent about manners." When the picture on the screen changed from a popular actress who had recently won many awards to a gorgeous bronze haired, green-eyed Adonis in a tux with an angelically beautiful dark-haired young woman in a cream-colored dress on his arm, Delly shushed her. They didn't speak while they listened to Effie report that her former favorite model, Finnick O'dair (whom-as she took every opportunity to remind everyone-she had discovered) appeared to be giving up his playboy ways. She went on to report that Finnick had attended the gala with Annie Cresta, a former model herself, and that Annie had worn an engagement ring. She smugly went on to hint that as a close personal friend of Finnick's she had long suspected they were serious as the playboy hadn't been seen in public with any other woman in almost 4 months; since shortly after their first date. Effie then turned her attention to fashion matters and launched into a piece about how ruffles, feathers and bright colors where going to be the big new look in the upcoming fashion season.

Delly gave a deep sigh and relaxed her body into the couch she was sitting on. "He's so dreamy. Why couldn't we have that kind of luck? You know he graduated from Capital University? About 3 years ago. He was there with Rye and Peeta. How unfair is that? We get crazies and liars like Snow and Crane; they get rich, drop-dead gorgeous former models!"

Katniss almost giggled "I bet they never even met him, Del. Besides, being on the same campus with him would have been too distracting. There would probably have been way more Finnick watching than studying and where would we be now?"

"If I ended up engaged to Finnick I wouldn't have cared if I didn't graduate at all." When she noticed Katniss' frown, Delly added "It would be worth it to have him in my bed every night. Come on Katniss even you can't deny he is sexy as all get out."

"No, no, I won't deny that. But he's just not my type-way too fickle. Anyways, I thought you got over Finnick when Effie brought on 'The Twins'." Katniss said referring to the two bronzed, buff, men that had become Effie's constant companions since her return to television three years ago.

"Come on Katniss, don't deny that you're human. I'm not saying I wanna spend the rest of my life with them but they have hot, sexy bodies. What woman wouldn't want to run her hands over those tight abs or their chests? Don't your fingers just itch to mess up their perfectly slicked back hair? Or rip those tight leather pants off and see…"

"Okay, okay! You win! They are way hot. Or at least their bodies are. But without seeing their faces or knowing something about them I just can't picture myself with them you know? Plus it's weird. They've been on TV for three years and no one knows anything about them. Not their real names or where they came from or what they do when they are not on TV. In fact they are never seen except when they are with Effie. And don't you think it's strange that in all that time no one has ever seen their faces? They are always wearing masks or have their faces painted. I bet they are hiding something….or from someone."

"Ugh, I give up! You just refuse to see the magic or enjoy the mystery of things" Delly turned towards the television one more time as the theme music for Effie's show blared loudly to signal the ending, and behind the rolling credits they could see Effie being escorted off the set by the two men they had been discussing. Laughing at Katniss' scowl, Delly stated "Maybe they are hiding something, but they sure improve the view."

Delly lowered the volume as she changed the subject "So Rye spoiled the moment and you just left? Without giving yourselves a chance for the kiss to happen again? I can't believe you Kat. I know you still have feelings for Peeta so why aren't you spending more time trying to get his attention?"

Katniss glared at her "He hasn't exactly been beating down my door for a date, has he? Maybe I need to know that he's interested before I invest my time like that. Maybe I…" she paused for at moment at the smirk that appeared on Delly's face and changed her tactics "Maybe I should be asking you why YOU haven't made any effort with Rye? YOU were the one who was all excited about them coming back. YOU were the one who was all gung-ho about visiting them. Why haven't you talked to them yourself yet?"

Delly's usual smile faded from her cheerful face. "You probably wouldn't understand. Peeta never ignored you the way Rye did me. I know it was silly of me to hope that he would date me back then, not when he hadn't dated a sophomore since he was one, but he totally ignored me. He flirted with every other girl in school. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Everyone except me; it was like he could see me at all. I was just Peeta's friend at best."

Katniss tried to cheer her up "Maybe that's why though. Don't get me wrong I liked him, he was a pretty good guy from all accounts, but even you have to admit that he seemed pretty fickle back then. He dated a lot of different girls at the same time, never seemed to commit to just one. Maybe, because you were such a good friend of his brother's, you were off limits. Did you ever ask Peeta to help you out with him?"

Delly shrugged "No, not really. We never talked about it but I think Peeta suspected because he used to invite me over when Rye was home and ask him to help me with stuff. So I don't think he was what was keeping Rye from asking me out. And it doesn't expl…"

Katniss looked at Delly's sad face and knew her friend was withholding something "Has something happened Delly?"

With a sigh Delly continued "Last night, afternoon really I guess, I stopped at the Gas & Go and they were there. I didn't actually see Peeta, I guess he was inside the store but Rye was pumping gas. I know he saw me because he looked right at me when I slammed the car door. So I, I smiled and said 'Hello Rye' and he…he just nodded his head towards me then turned back toward the pump, hung up the nozzle and climbed in the truck, pulled up to the door to wait for Peeta. I think he took off before Peet had the door closed."

"Maybe he didn't recognize you?" But even to her own ears she knew that was unlikely. Their parents had been friends since before Rye was born and they had spent a lot of time at each other's houses even before Delly and Peeta had become the best of friends in Kindergarten. "Maybe he was just in a hurry to get back to the bakery?"

Delly's smile brightened a bit at that "I guess it possible that they were in a hurry, but they weren't going back to bakery that's for sure. They headed towards the interstate and the motorcycle was in the back of the truck."

"Maybe they were taking it for a drive somewhere better than around town?" Katniss guessed.

Delly's smile faded again "Where ever they went, they never came home last night; at least that's what I heard. They weren't there when I drove by on my way here. And last weekend they were gone all of Saturday and most of Sunday. Do you think they went to the same place again? Do you think they have girlfriends back at CU or somewhere?"

With a determined look Katniss looked at her friend and said "its possible Delly, it is very possible. They are two very fine specimens and the girls at Capital would have to be complete idiots not to notice. And I think it would be a bit foolish for either of us to go forward with…pursuing them until we know one way or another. First thing is to find out if they already have girlfriends. Any ideas how?"


End file.
